MANILA – Mayor Antonio Halili of Tanauan City, Batangas allegedly had a feud with a “former high-ranking general” before he was killed, the Philippine National Police said on Thursday.
Director General Oscar Albayalde, PNP chief, said they were considering this angle in investigating Halili’s fatal shooting on Monday.
“Mayroon din siyang nakaaway na former general na high-ranking, we are also considering that,” Albayalde said in an ambush interview. “Alleged lang naman iyong with regard to involvement niya with illegal drugs.”
“Hindi ko lang sure kung ano talaga ang naging puno’t-dulo ng away nila,” he added. “I don’t know kung iyong former general was from the police or military service, basta sabi nila general, so that is part of the investigation actually.”
Prior to Albayalde’s statement, investigators were looking into three possible motives in Halili’s killing – politics, “shame campaign” on suspected criminals and his alleged involvement in the drug trade.
Halili – known for parading crime suspects, including those accused of involvement in the drug trade – was shot and killed while attending a flag-raising ceremony at the Tanauan City Hall on Monday morning.
Despite the mayor’s controversial campaign against crimes, President Rodrigo Duterte repeatedly accused him of involvement in drug trafficking. Halili was also in Duterte’s “narco-list.”
On Thursday the Police Regional Office 4-A held a reenactment of Monday morning’s assassination where they established that the “sniper’s hole” found near the city hall was indeed the one the gunman used.
Chief Superintendent Edward Carranza, regional police director, said the gunman may have had a companion based on the width of the sniper’s hole. An empty bullet shell was also found near where Halili was killed.
Carranza said they will perform ballistic tests on the shell in the hope that it will lead them to a suspect./PN
